tawandamusarurwa
Theseus Shambare
THE Food Deficit Mitigation Programme that is rolled out to food insecure households by Government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is an empowerment programme, a Government official has said.
This came out during the handover ceremony of the Food Deficit Mitigation Strategy Manual on Wednesday in Harare.
The manual will see all NGOs who wish to render assistance to communities engage Government, and abide by the given dictates.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare chief director of social development and disability affairs, Dr Edmos Mtetwa, said:
“Any social protection programme is meant to empower communities. It is not charity, it is a form of empowerment.
“Failure to have a standardised way of delivering aid to our communities then stands to compromise the same communities’ inherent capacity to handle their own problems.”
Dr Mtetwa said the launch of a guideline manual will result in better social protection programming in the country.
“It is very important in the sense that it signifies the collaborative efforts of Government and partners towards mitigating adverse effects of food deficit in the country,” he said.
“Because it is a social protection programme, it has a number of partners and these partners need to work under set standards which are all encompassed in this manual we now have.”
World Food Programme (WFP) country representative, Ms Francesca Erdelmann said:
“We have been working together with the Government of Zimbabwe for the past 20 years, and we have learnt, grown and developed this programme together.
“This is a national programme to which WFP is a partner, along with other organisations. These guidelines come as a way of tightening the relationship based on the experiences and circumstances we went through.”
Government partnered WFP in the production of the manual book, which will be distributed to the grassroots so that the communities know their rights, while also ensuring that NGOs operate within set parameters.
Between October 2022 and March 2023, the Government in partnership with NGOs is rolling out a Food Deficit Mitigation Programme, which aims to feed four million food insecure individuals.
Online Reporter